George was a dray driver for a Joplin, MO, brewing company but the family later went to Nebraska where his wife Margaret was the cook for a railroad construction crew. George had a team and wagon and part of his duties were to haul groceries from the railhead to the rail construction site and also to furnish fresh meat for the labourers. It was on one of these hunting trips after buffalo that he was chased by Indians, an experience he did not forget.